The Windows Deployment tools help you customize and deploy Windows in the following process.

First, install and customize a Windows image. Then add branding, drivers, and other customizations to Windows. This step produces a reference image that represents all of the basic customizations that are used on the computers you create.

Deploy the reference image to a computer. This step produces destination computers.

Use the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) to inventory the PCs and applications in your organization and evaluate whether the applications you have already deployed are compatible with the new version of Windows and Internet Explorer. For more information, see Application Compatibility Toolkit.

Use the User State Migration Tool (USMT) to migrate user or application data from another version of Windows, to make the user data available on the destination computer. For more information, see USMT Technical Reference.